SOTA questions (plural)

Hi everyone,
I don't want to email Donna Bodinet with a bunch of questions as I know she is very busy with the business. SOTA does not appear anywhere near as popular as Rega, VPI, Project, etc. yet I know that SOTA makes a quality product and has quite an extensive product line. They almost seem rare these days. Does anyone know why ? Are any SOTA models stocked or are they built to order ? The Jewel is the starting point for their models that interest me. Does the Jewel have the same 22 pound lead/mdf 'block' that the Sapphire has ? I have seen this question posted on various forums but never answered 'How do the Jewel and Sapphire compare soundwise' ? All comments of course are welcomed.

 

This interview may answer some of your questions:

Vinyl Anachronist
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Thank you. I had read that. I guess I am looking for more info. There is not much used SOTA equipment on the usual places, there are very few postings on any forums....it just puzzles me. Is it as simple as Roy Gandy and Mat Weisfeld making a good product and keeping the 'excitement' factor alive ? There is always 'buzz' about Rega and VPI.

 

See...? Not much response. Now, if I said that I had a pic of the new Rega P6.....

 

I think another factor, beyond SOTA almost going down the tubes in the '90s, is as follows (my take, and possibly my take alone)...

I was just getting into audiophilia when SOTA hit the scene in the early to mid-'80s. Their Sapphire and Star Sapphire 'tables made a pretty huge splash, and everyone immediately began comparing them to the 'big boy' on the block, the Linn Sondek. And to the up-and-coming 800 lb. gorilla in the room, CD.

A friend of mine bought a SOTA Sapphire back then, so I got to hear it a lot. It kinda shocked me initially how very 'CD-like' it sounded, right down to the tight, extended bass and kind of 'hard' upper midrange/lower treble. Lots of detail too, but not terribly 'musical' or fun to listen to, for some reason. Analytical, I guess, is the word.

But back then, I think a lot of analog guys were scared sh*tless by the growing CD juggernaut, and thought they needed something with a similar sound in order to compete. And of course, there was a horde of digitalistas braying about how CD was the 'perfect sound', and that if your front-end wasn't a CD player, or, by extension, didn't sound like a CD player, then you were just enjoying 'pleasing colorations' and not accuracy.

It never occurred to them that maybe it wasn't that clear cut, that maybe their fave format was missing something in the music that at least some analog front-ends were capturing better than digital. They didn't really want to listen, just spew specs. But they (and their format's success) were very influential back then, and they got inside the analog guys' heads to some extent.

So, given the 'receptive' atmosphere, SOTA 'tables and their CD-like sound were really popular for awhile back in the '80s. But, I don't think they or their sound inspired that much lasting 'love', or at least as much as they could've or should've, given their obviously great build quality and looks. And then digital really took over, so 'love' was the only thing that was gonna get an alternative product (analog) through the Dark Ages.

SOTA thus fell on hard times in the '90s, while a few other better-loved TT-makers were able to weather the storm, and as you know from the interview link, SOTA wound up only getting sort of semi-saved by the efforts of that nice couple, who weren't really in a financial position to do much more than keep SOTA alive in a low-key way (though even that was surely much appreciated by SOTA diehards).

Now analog is coming back, and there is just so much more competition in quality analog than there ever was before. And I don't think ppl really want their turntables to sound like CD players anymore. So, between that, the increased competition, and the limited $$$ available to advertise and promote them, there's no real 'heat' behind SOTA, which in turn keeps the major mags from being interested in reviewing them (another form of advertising).

Vicious circle thus ensues. SOTA gets to keep on living, but not really thriving. For better or worse.

My take on it anyway, as someone who saw the events unfold at the time...
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I think Kirk Bodinet passed away shortly after that interview was done. Mrs. Bodinet is still running the company, but I'm not sure what presence they have in the marketplace. Rega and VPI are very easy to find, and most likely dominate the new tables folks have on this board. I said new tables not to offend the SL12oo gang. That is why you see more posts about them.

 

I would personally LOVE to have a Sota Sapphire

 

Cyclone Ranger,
That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for that.

 

I would love to hear one first. I have a highly upgraded Rega and I ASSume because of the massive build of the Sapphire and the cost that I will prefer the sound. But, maybe not. I have 'upgraded' before and been disappointed. So, I agree, if I hear a Sapphire and love the sound, you bet I would love to have one. (And someone to help me lift it).

 

I have never heard one, but I have been told they are more lean than VPI. Kind of neutral. But that could have to do with the system and cartridge in question. I have been considering one of their refurb sapphires with an SME M2-9R arm
But a new turntable will be the last thing I buy. So it will have to be a keeper.

 

Juno6000,
I certainly am no expert (obviously) on SOTA's but I think you might want to go with the new motor option on a refurbished Sapphire. Then, you are only about $600 different in cost compared to a new one. If I am correct, the reason is the old motor is a Pabst and no longer available. Check with Donna Bodinet at SOTA to be sure. Donna answers all emails.

 

Yes, i have heard reasons to possibly avoid the refurbs....and the motor is definitely one of them. At that price point it would be best to justbsave up and go with a new one

 

What other reasons have you heard ? With all of the weight....sagging springs and sagging mdf/plinth ?

 

Just that the new models are better all around and that its better to just buy a new one. Not sure of all the specifics. The motor is one. Someone on another forum contacted them about the differences and said that from the email he received from sota that he deduced that the advantages of a new one far outweighed the cost savings of buying an older refurbished unit. Sorry I cannot give you more specifics. Motor, spring mount system and the top of the plinth were mentioned. However, when I read SOTA'S description it seems like mainly the motor. If I recall, their description says new spring system is installed. I may still go with a refurb. Ill have to email them myself to find out

 

I was also thinking of a Jewel, but that uses a different isolation technique. Not springs. Have not seen any reviews of the jewel or the polymer isolation.

 

Looks like we both read the same info. Which further demonstrates that there is not that much info out there.

 

I love mine. I think it is great. CD-like sound is an odd description, but my take is that their tables are well damped or, in some people's perception over-damped. I don't want any extra distortion from my turntable source. I get that with tubes.

I know they were slow getting their product out into the mail-order suppliers and Rega gets all the press.

I'd gladly move up the line and often consider it. I'm still interviewing tonearms and cartridges in combination, though.

 

Same with me. Donna said that most people prefer the Sapphire due to the spring suspension. I sent away for the April 1992 issue of Stereophile which has a full review of the Jewel. April is always the Recommended Components Issue. The Jewel received Class 'D'. The Sapphire and Star, Class 'C'. The Cosmos, Class 'B'. The prices back then make you want to cry. A Sapphire was $1350.

 

FYI, mine uses a 219.5 pivot to spindle, so don't try and use a standard protractor.

 

What model do you have ? A Sapphire ? Is it possible to describe what 'over damped' sounds like ?

 

No, Comet III. My plinth is MDF with the lead sandwich. Overdamped means vanishingly low vibration feedback into the stylus from motor/bearing or environment. There are obviously better tables, but for the money at the time? You can knock on the shelf and even the plinth and get nothing or very little through the speakers.

I added Herbie's dots to the feet, which tightened things up even further. My speakers are also overdamped. The recovery is super fast, and bass is audible, but doesn't bloom.

The whole package is more detailed and less distorted by a long shot than a CD on my Oppo.

There's just little extra energy beyond what's created by the groove/stylus—and that doesn't sound like what people think of when they think turntable.

 

I should have read this first. There is nothing wrong with what you describe. My Rega is very microphonic. If you touch the plinth or the dustcover it gets amplified. Especially since I have a NAD C 272 power amp with AR 3a speakers. I think the Comet has a damped platter as well does it not ?

 

The platter is two slabs of some sort of polymer with a soft, damping layer sandwiched between. The subplatter is a softer plastic, like a cheap skateboard deck. The bearing housing is a polymer. Lots of different, softish, plastic sort of materials in layers.

 

My upgraded Rega has an aluminum (Groovetracer Reference) subplatter and 12mm thick glass platter. Once I tried it without the 1mm thick RP10 mat and the bass and dynamics were explosive. I am sure the Rega puts a lot of energy back into the stylus.